In the wake of an apartment fire in North Whitehall that killed 61 cats and two dogs, the township is going to explore whether to require annual inspections of rental properties. The July 15 blaze at the three-story apartment building at Route 309 and Game Preserve Road displaced seven people and closed two businesses. The fire inspector said the cause was an electrical problem. Township Manager Jeff Bartlett told the township supervisors Monday that an annual inspection of each rental property in the township would likely have turned up that the property manager who lived in the building was keeping the cats and dogs.

In the wake of an apartment fire in North Whitehall that killed 61 cats and two dogs, the township is going to explore whether to require annual inspections of rental properties. The July 15 blaze at the three-story apartment building at Route 309 and Game Preserve Road displaced seven people and closed two businesses. The fire inspector said the cause was an electrical problem. Township Manager Jeff Bartlett told the township supervisors Monday that an annual inspection of each rental property in the township would likely have turned up that the property manager who lived in the building was keeping the cats and dogs.

Most center city dwellers will tell you that one of the most common problems is rental properties. In some cases, rental properties out-shine any other property in the area. But in most cases, rental properties contribute to a block's decline. Recently, for example, in my neighborhood several houses were converted to rentals. The tenants devote little time to the upkeep of the property. It is a fact that well-kept properties help keep crime out of a neighborhood. I have seen it firsthand in center city Allentown.

A cross the country, real estate investment firms have been buying foreclosed properties as the recession and weak economy creates large inventories of properties for sale. Investors have been especially aggressive for the last two years in acquiring single-family homes, often turning them into profitable rental properties. Now that trend may be slipping a bit. According to a report by real estate industry data site Realty Trac and Pintar Investment Co., the pace of such purchases nationwide is likely to slow this year.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved a $153,000 grant to the city of Allentown for its loan program to rehabilitate rental properties. Under the program, landlords match low-interest loans to bring their housing units up to city code standards. Code Enforcement Director Raymond C. Polaski said the goal is to provide tenants with living quarters that meet city codes without the need to relocate. City Council approved filing for the federal grant in May. HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr. announced that $7.5 million in grants has been awarded to cities, counties and the state of Pennsylvania to undertake and encourage refurbishing of rental housing.

Catasauqua officials will start inspecting residential rental properties beginning July 1. Borough Manager Eugene Goldfeder said Tuesday complaints about noise and trash increased in the past year. He said 10 to 20 written complaints had been received in that time, but most are verbal. "We are doing this to make sure landlords are being more responsible in the condition of their units and making sure their tenants do not trash the place," he said. Goldfeder also said the ordinance helps Catasauqua receive revenue such as earned income tax from people who may relocate from other municipalities yet not register with the borough.

By Charles Malinchak Special to The Morning Call - Freelance | May 28, 2008

Quakertown Council's proposed law to regulate rental units drew criticism from some landlords Tuesday night who believed the law should go even further and require safety and health inspections of private homes. The core of the law, which is scheduled to be voted on by council in July, is to protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of renters and establish maintenance rules for landlords. One rule would give the borough the authority to inspect a rental unit at any time, which longtime landlord Paul Reimel characterized as a tactic used by the Nazis.

Hellertown Borough Council will consider levying an annual $20 tax on rental units to help finance a new housing inspection system. Under the proposal council intends to review today, property owners would have to obtain licenses for each rental unit every five years. They would have to pay the annual tax whether the dwelling was inspected that year or not. With about 627 rental units, which represent nearly a quarter of Hellertown's housing stock, the borough would raise $12,540 each year to help pay for about 125 inspections.

A cross the country, real estate investment firms have been buying foreclosed properties as the recession and weak economy creates large inventories of properties for sale. Investors have been especially aggressive for the last two years in acquiring single-family homes, often turning them into profitable rental properties. Now that trend may be slipping a bit. According to a report by real estate industry data site Realty Trac and Pintar Investment Co., the pace of such purchases nationwide is likely to slow this year.

Taking aim at "ill-kept" rental properties, Easton City Council candidate Timothy Pickel called Thursday for a moratorium on conversions of single homes to apartment units. Pickel, a Democrat, stood at the corner of 12th and Ferry streets near one apartment building where the paint has peeled off the trim and another where piles of boxes and other items filled the front porch. "The time has come," he said, "where we need to act to stabilize owner-occupied housing in Easton's neighborhoods.

By Charles Malinchak, Special to The Morning Call | September 28, 2012

A nonprofit developer said this week's zoning rejection would not stop his multi-million-dollar plan to bring low-rent housing and a convert a vacant church into an art gallery in south Bethlehem. Housing Development Corp. MidAtlantic of Lancaster will go back to the drawing board to determine how to address the parking issues associated with the $11 million project, President Michael Carper said. "We closed on the properties. We own them. We're not going away and will make it work," he said.

Why do Northampton County Council members never talk about the costs of repairs and renovations that have been done to Gracedale over the last several years? The Morning Call's pictures even show the rope scaffolding used to replace all of the windows. I also believe the fire retardant systems and the roof were updated or replaced. It must have cost the county millions of dollars for these renovations. The building is in the best shape it's been in years. Owning several rental properties myself, I know you don't always make a big profit every year when renovations are needed.

A fire damaged a cottage in the 3700 block of Old Philadelphia Pike in Lower Saucon Township around 10 p.m. Sunday, displacing two adult tenants. Se-Wy-Co Fire Chief Thomas Barndt said an electrical problem in the basement started the fire, causing fire damage to the basement and extensive smoke damage to the first and second floors. No injuries were reported. Se-Wy-Co, Leithsville and Nancy Run fire companies responded to the call. The property at 3712 Old Philadelphia Pike is owned by Michael J. and Jane D. Birk, who live at 2716 Old Philadelphia Pike, according to Barndt.

Mayor Ed Pawlowski's no-nonsense housing policy has showed early signs of success, according to a consultant from the University of Pennsylvania. More properties are being inspected, resulting in more code violations and spurring reinvestment into the city's aging housing stock. The city has used eminent domain as more than just a threat, taking legal action against more than 30 properties. And delinquent fees, long ignored, have been aggressively pursued, resulting in increased collections and greater compliance.

Catasauqua officials will start inspecting residential rental properties beginning July 1. Borough Manager Eugene Goldfeder said Tuesday complaints about noise and trash increased in the past year. He said 10 to 20 written complaints had been received in that time, but most are verbal. "We are doing this to make sure landlords are being more responsible in the condition of their units and making sure their tenants do not trash the place," he said. Goldfeder also said the ordinance helps Catasauqua receive revenue such as earned income tax from people who may relocate from other municipalities yet not register with the borough.

By Kelly Martin Special to The Morning Call - Freelance | December 18, 2008

Allentown City Council introduced an ordinance Wednesday that could give the city more power to clean up the city's neglected rental properties. The proposal would require inspection of all units owned by a landlord if one of them is deemed uninhabitable. It would also hold an out-of-county landlord's rental agent legally responsible for code violations. "There are problem landlords who own several properties and if they try to evade code on one of them, they will probably try it on all of them," council President Michael D'Amore said after Wednesday's meeting.

To the Editor: I read with great interest Jim Kelly's Aug. 28 column, "Old Allentown starting to take on a new look." The facade restoration project is truly exciting and Old Allentown Preservation Association should be commended for its dedication and innovation. I agree with Kelly's observation that the results of this project are "visually stunning." Most interesting to me, but not at all surprising, was David Humphries' assessment that the "root problem" for the deterioration of center city Allentown is the fact that 50 percent of the homes in the district are rental properties.

By Stephen C. Antalics Special to The Morning Call - Freelance | March 19, 2002

Negligent landords are a problem in Bethlehem and other cities. It's a particular concern on the South Side, which included a number of student rental properties. In fact, Bethlehem's rental property ordinance reads: "There is a greater incidence of disturbances which adversely affect the peace and quiet of the neighborhood at residential properties where owners rent to three or more unrelated individuals." This clearly is intended to imply "students." But recently, there have been few, if any, published police reports concerning adverse student behavior.

By Michael D'Amore Special to The Morning Call - Freelance | November 12, 2008

In the past two weeks, the city of Allentown's new Landlord Hall of Shame has been the subject of much discussion in this newspaper. I applaud The Morning Call for shining a spotlight on the troublesome activities of absentee landlords and the damage that they do to our city. While the overall conversation has been valuable for our city, I believe that my position on the mayor's new program was not accurately presented in an Oct. 30 editorial and recent letters to the editor. At no time did I criticize the mayor's efforts as "mean" or overly aggressive; actually, my critique of this new measure was quite the opposite.

Shame on you, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski. That's what some City Council members are saying about the mayor's Landlord Hall of Shame initiative, which outs faulty landlords by posting their phone numbers, violations and photos of their rental properties on city streets, in their hometown newspaper and on the city's Web site. And one of the "shamed" landlords claims the action prompted threats against him. Councilmen Michael D'Amore and Tony Phillips said the program is more a "gimmick" and "window dressing" than a meaningful effort to combat the city's problem of neglected properties and absentee landlords.